The field of the invention is in the measurement art, and more particularly the art of measurement of tip deflection of rotating blades in turbomachinery.
It is customary to modify the manufacturing design coordinates of turbomachine blading an estimated amount such that under full centrifugal and gas bending loads, the blade will deflect to the desired shape and setting angle of the design calculations. Prior to this invention a precise means of measuring the deflections along the edge of the blade tip of a rotor blade relative to its root during operation of a turbomachine has not been available.
The following patents may be of interest in furnishing background information relative to the state of the art, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,967 to patentees J. E. Bridges et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,617 to patentee B. S. Blake, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,410 to patentees G. Swift et al.